Shoe-clasp



(No Model.)

- T. E. KING.

SHOE CLASP. No. SilAZl. Patented May 4, 1886.

-N PETERS. Phom-Lilhagnphor, wzshmgler D. C. \A

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THEODORE E. KING, OF WESTPORT, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JOSEPH C. HAMMOND, JR., OF ROCKVILLE, CONNECTICUT.

/ SHOE-CLASIF.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 341,421, dated May 4, 1886.

Application filed January 2, 1886. Serial No. 187,361. (No model.)

T0 all whom it may concern:

Be itv known that I, THEODORE E. KING, of Vestport, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in ShoeClasps, of which the following is a full, clear, and eX- act description,whereby any one skilled in the art can make and use the same.

My improved buckle or clasp relates to the class of such devices that are commonly used to fasten articles of wearing-apparel, and are particularly adapted for use on shoes and overshoes.

The object of my improvement is to provide a clasp that shall be simple and compact in construction,few in the number of its parts, and efficient and certain in action, as well as being very durable.

My improvement consists in a tongue-plate having al loop or like means for attachment to a shoe or like article, and parts that fold inward and are closed upon the tongue-pivot, the latter being supported by the plate, and having rearward of the pivot a bearing-surface, which, by cont-actwith the plate, causes the latter to perform the double function or office of a springplate, as Well as au immediate support for the tongue.

Referring to the drawings, Figure lis a plan view of the upper side of a blank for the tongue-plate. Fig. 2 is an edge view of the same. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the tongueplate, with the tongue secured to it by the parts being folded down upon its pivot. Fig. 4 is a view in central section lengthwise of the plate and tongue, the latter open. Fig. 5 is a View in cross-section of the tongue-plate, looking toward the tongue, which is opened to its full extent. Fig. 6 is a` view in crosssection of the tongue-plate,looking toward the tongue, as in Fig. 5, but with .the tongue partly closed, and showing the cam and its action. Fig. 7 isa bottom view of amoditied form of plate and tongue, the latter closed, a part of the plate being cut away over one of the tongue-pivots.

In the accompanying drawings, the letter a denotes a tongueplate, that is formed from a blank, a', cut or stamped from a sheet of metal, in the usual manner. This blank consists of a bodyr part with a loop, al, through which a strap is passed for attaching the plate to a shoe, and projecting wings a", so located that they may be folded inward upon the tongue-pivot.

After the blank has been cut to the form shown, and the pivot-sockets b formed by indenting the opposite sides of the wings, they are folded inward and closed upon the pivot c ofthe tongue c,that is formed in hook shapev 6o with integral pivots, and is cut and bent to shape in the manner and by the means well known to any one familiar with the art.

The inner end or base of the tongue bears a rearward-projecting cam, c2, solocated that as the tongue is swung open the cam strikes against the under side of the plate between the pivot-sockets and causes it to spring upward crosswise of its length, and to enable it to yield more readily the front edge of the plate 7o between the pivot has a central slot, d.

The tongue is bent quite sharply where the curved part rises from the base, and the contact of this corner with the under side of the plate limits the extent to which the tongue may be opened,while the cam,striking against the plate on the opposite side of the pivot, holds the tongue open until a sufficient force is applied to carry the cam underneath the plate, that presses downward upon the cam 8o with a yielding pressure, and the tongue is held closed in a similar manner by the bent portion of the cam and plate. i

In prior structures of this class the tongue has been held by the yielding grasp of folded S5 parts of the plate upon an integral tonguepivot that is oblong in cross-section; but such a device is weak in construction, and by the rounding of the edges of the pivot soon destroys the spring action. In other forms the 9o' tongue is pivoted to the tongueplate, and it is held in different points between the limits of its play by a spring formed on a separate piece attached to the tongueplate.

All the advantages present in a clasp having a spring-controlled tongue of this class are present in my improved device, and it has the further advantage of embodying, by reason of its peculiar construction, the double office of plate and spring in a simple and du- Ico rable manner.

In the modified form of device shown in lengthwise slot d, opening to the front edge of the plate between the pivot-sockets, whereby the platenis rendered yielding crosswise of its length, all substantially as described.

2. In a shoe-clasp, in combination with the tongue c, having a cani, c2, extending rearward of the pivot and co-operating with the top plate, the tongue-plate a, with pivot-sockets b, with rigid walls, and comprising in the single plate a tonguesupport and spring, all substantially as described.

8. In a shoe-clasp, in combination with the tongue c, having a cani, c2, extending rearward of the pivot, the tongue-plate a, with pivotsockets Z), with rigid walls, and a slot, d, in the edge of the plate between the pivots, the

single plate comprising a tongue-support and 3o x spring, all substantially as described.

THEODORE E. KING.

Witnesses:

B. L. WooDwoR'rH, H. S. SHERwooD. 

